Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. Acquires 1,925 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,282 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,925 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0 %

MRK stock traded down $1.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $100.83. The company had a trading volume of 401,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,822,441. The stock has a market cap of $255.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.00 and a 200-day moving average of $120.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $98.60 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.